Karl-Anthony Towns trade analysis: Knicks left with limited roster-building options

NEW YORK — This blockbuster move wouldn’t have been possible without Shake Milton.

When the Knicks traded Bojan Bogdanovic and five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, they faced a hard cap dilemma: get locked into the $188.9 million second apron for taking back more salary than they sent out or perform salary-cap gymnastics to stay flexible under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The Knicks chose the latter, including Milton in a three-year, $9 million sign-and-trade to Brooklyn. This move sealed one deal and set the stage for the next.

Late Friday night, the Knicks agreed to send three-time All-Star Julius Randle and franchise three-point king Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the NBA’s most polarizing big men.

Now, the Knicks face another challenge — staying under the second apron with a ballooning payroll as they pursue an elusive NBA title, the franchise’s first in over 50 years.

Payroll snapshot

With 13 players on guaranteed contracts and three more (Marcus Morris Sr., Landry Shamet, and Chuma Okeke) battling for the last two roster spots, the Knicks’ current payroll sits at $185.35 million for the 2024-25 season.

This figure could change with more moves or by signing Morris ($3.3 million), Shamet ($2.6M), or Okeke ($2.4M), who are each on non-guaranteed training camp deals.

With regular-season rosters due by Oct. 21, the Knicks have until then to make decisions with respect to the $188.931 million second apron. The Knicks have $3.58 million worth of wiggle room, which technically classifies them as under the second apron until a transaction moves them north of the threshold.

Why staying below second apron matters

Crossing the second apron triggers several harsh penalties, including:

— Inability to use the mid-level exception

— No aggregating player contracts or sending cash in trades

— Cannot acquire players via sign-and-trade

— Cannot take back more salary than they send out

— Loss of trade exceptions from previous years

— First-round picks seven years out are frozen and pushed to the end of the draft for repeat offenders

None of these restrictions apply, however, to the Knicks, at least not yet, since they are still below the second apron as of the Towns trade.

The Knicks were already over the first apron ($178.132 million) and unable to sign buyout market players whose prior contracts exceeded the $12.8 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception or receive a player in a sign-and-trade.

Barring a salary dump, the Knicks will be a second apron team this season, with the only remaining order of business the order of operations leading them over the threshold.

The Knicks' options

Assuming Towns, Bridges, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson are untouchable, the Knicks are left with Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, Precious Achiuwa, Miles McBride, Jericho Sims, Cameron Payne, Keita Bates-Diop, and rookies Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet, along with whichever two players from Morris, Shamet and Okeke make the final roster.

Among these, only Hart, Robinson, McBride, Sims, Bates-Diop and the rookies are eligible to be traded before the season begins. The others (Achiuwa, Morris, Shamet, Okeke, Payne) become trade-eligible on Dec. 15.

The Knicks, for example, could make a compelling offer centered around Robinson, McBride and hefty second-round draft compensation.

Waiting until Dec. 15, when more players become trade-eligible, is another option, though it risks leaving the team with insufficient depth for the first two months of the season.

The bottom line

The Knicks have built a versatile starting five with the addition of Towns, but their depth has taken a hit, and they’re just $3.6 million away from the second apron.

They’ll need to once again make deft decisions in order to maximize their opportunity to improve the roster in time for the regular-season opener in Boston against the Celtics on Oct. 22.

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